MARC LEPINE: CRIMINAL OR FOLK HERO?
Most folk heroes started out as criminals, so they say. In 1989, it was clear to most people what Marc Lepine was: a criminal and a mass murderer. Twenty years later, it has changed: it is far from clear now. The simple fact that his name has not been forgotten and that his visibility, dare we say popularity, has increased, says a lot not only about the man but about the general public and its perceptions.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

MARC LEPINE IS YOURS: CLAIM HIM

YOU OWN HIM TOO: CLAIM HIM AS YOUR OWN PERSONAL HERO

We say claim him, although polite society doesn't want you to associate and identify with such a person (imagine, a criminal!), it rather wants you to stay close to a Disneyland view of the world, but we know that the Walt Disney way of facing this world doesn't really work: it gets the shit kicked out of it now in Irak and Afghanistan, and everywhere else. The heroes in shining armour are over, they made too good a target. And the Roy Rogers of this world wearing a white shirt get dirty pretty fast in contact with the ugly reality. The truth is that this world is muddy, therefore the need for antiheroes in the 1970s; but even the likes of Clint Eastwood are outclassed now, they won't suffice because the world has got dirtier in the meantime. Is Marc the solution then?

You are 14 and a bad ass, you play violent video games all day because your mom is not home. She's on an errand of a disreputable nature, your father is not there either then she has thrown him out of the house years ago. So, home alone, you spend your whole day at the Arcade parlour playing such violent video games that even regular customers are appalled. You have an understanding with the owner who has agreed to connect a machine just for you in the backstore, so that bad asses like you won't disturb the regular clientele. My young friend, you desperately need a mentor or a hero! Let's see the games you are playing now: the Gender War, ''kill all the bitches'', exterminate all women. Wow, small wonder if with titles and games like that, you caused some protests and concern. You'll have a hard time to find a girlfriend, then any girl watching you play these kinds of games will quickly decide to stay away.

On the other hand, there are perhaps good reasons why you play these games: rejection for one. You feel resentment towards your mother who is never there for you, the female teachers at schools who constantly make fun of you and belittle you, the girls in the street that are so arrogant and treat you like you don't exist, and the world in general. We repeat, you need a hero. It is OK to dream of revenge, it is okay to say: ''some day...'' and mean it, and it is more than OK that your hero might be one of Revenge: some dark figure. Roy Rogers can't help you there, and the ''Happy trail'' leads to an impasse. The hippie world of love never worked and the American dream is shattered. Maybe you should try another road, maybe you should explore the dark side. Marc is there waiting for you. Defy them all, dare them, reject polite society and CLAIM HIM.

But I don't know if I can claim him, he was a Canadian living in Quebec at the end of the last century. Of course you can claim him! It doesn't matter if you are an Australian boy of twelve or a 14 years old New-Zealander mad gamer, it doesn't matter if you live in the US, the UK or somewhere else in Europe. What matters is that Marc is now international, that over a period of 20 years Canadian feminists have given him true immortality (imagine, HE IS IMMORTAL now thanks to them), and above all that HE IS THERE FOR YOU. Claim him boys: ''By Grabthar's hammer, by the sons of Worvan, you shall be avenged''... some day.

THEY MAY DISAPPROVE OF THIS PAGE...

SPEAKING OF VIOLENCE...

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

Yes, which one are you? For the most part, five groups of people are interested in the Marc Lepine phenomenon: feminists, real women, bleeding heart liberals, criminalists and masculists. All are welcome here to join and post. So which one do you belong to? Maybe the above does not describe you accurately though, and you would like perhaps to add a new category to the pool. Feel free to do so, even if you should be the only one in it. It says nowhere that one cannot be his/her own planet!